The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-08-25

Intolerance Never Put Anything Down.
THE HAMPToNs, August 14.-To-day
Che Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage's sermon 10
Concerning the Bigot;" and the text,
"Then said they unto him, say now Shib-
boleth; and he said Sibboleth; for he
could not frame TO pronounce ii right.
Then they took him and slew him at the
passages of Jordan. Judges xii, &.
Doyou notice the difference ofpronuncia-
ton between shibboleth and sibbolethp A
very small and unimp per'ant difference,
you say. And yet that difference was the
difference between life and death for
great many people. The Lords people,
Gilead and EphrAim, got into great fight,
and EDhraim WAS wo sted, and on the re-
treat came to the fords of the river Jordan
to cross. Order was given that all Ephra-
mites coming there be slain. But how
could it be found out who were Ephraim-
ties? They we're detected by their pro-
nuncialion. Shihboleth was a word that
stood or river. ! he Ephraimites had
brogue of their own, and when they tried
to say shibboleth always left out the sound
of the "h, When it was asked that they
saw shibboleth they said slbboleth, and
we're slain. aThen said they unto him,
Say now Shibboleth and he said Sibboleth,
for he could not frame to pronounce it
right. Then they took him and slew him
at the passages of Jordan" A very small
difference, you say, between Gilead and
Ephraim, and yet how much intolerance
about that small difference. The Lords
tribes in our ume-by which mean the
different denominations of Christians
sometimes magnify very small difference,
and the only difference between scores of
denominations to-day is the difference be-
tween shibboleth and sibbeleth.
The church of God is divided into
great number of denominations. Time
would fail me to tell of the Calvinists,
and the Arminians, and the Sabbatarians,
and the Baxterians, and the Dunkers, and
the Shakers, and the Quakers, and the
Methodists, and the Baptists, and the
Episcopalians, and the Lutherans, and the
Congregationalsts, and the Presbyterians,
and the Spiritualists, and score of other
denominations of religionists, some of
them founded by very good men, and some
of them founded by very egotistic men,
and some of them founded by very bad
men. But as demand for myself liberty
of conscience, I must give that same
liberty to every other man, remembering
that he no more differs from me than I
differ from him. l advocate the largest
liberty in all religious belief and form of
worship. In art, in politics, in morals,
and in religion let there be no gag law, no
moving of the previous question, no perse-
cution, no intolerance.
You know that the air and the water keep
pure by constant circulation, and think
there is tendency in religious discussion
to purifcation and moral health. Between
the Fourth and the Sixteenth centuries the
church proposed to make people think
Alright by prohibiting discussion and by
strong censorship of the press, and by rack,
and gibbet, and hot lead down the throat,
tried to make people orthodox; but it was
discovered that you cannot change mans
belief by twisting off his head, and that
you cannot make man see things differ
emily by putting an awl through his eyes.
There is something in mans conscience
which will hurl off the mountain that you
threw upon it, and, unsinged of the fire,
out of the flame will make red wings on
which the martyr will mount to glory.
In that time Of which speak, between
the Fourth and Sixteenth centuries, people
went from the house of God into the most
appalling iniquity, and right along by con-
secrated affairs there were tides Of drunk
enness and licentiousness such as the
world never heard of, and the very sewers
Of prediction broke loose and flooded the
church. After o while the printing press
was freed, and it broke the shackles of the
human mind. Then there came a large
number of bad books, but where there was
one man hostile to the Christian religion
there were twenty ready 10 advocate it; SO
! have not any nervousness in regard to
this battle going on between truth and
error.
The truth will conquer just as GER
tainly as that God is stronger than the devil.
Let error run if you only let truth run
along with it. Urged on by skeptics shout
and transcendentalist's spur, let it run.
Gods angels of wrath are in hot pursuit
and quicker than eagles beak clutches out
n hawks heart Gods vengeance will tear it
to pieces.
l propose this morning to speak to you
of sectarianism-its origin, its evils, and
its curses. There are those who would
make us think that this monster, with
horns and hoofs, is religion. shall chase
il 10 its hiding place, and drag it out of the
caverns of darkness and rip off its hide.
But want to make n distinction between
bigotry and the lawful fondness for
peculiar religious beliefs and forms of
worship. l have no admiration for q
nothingarian.
In world of such tremendous vicissi-
tude and temptation, and with a soul that
must after while stand before throne
OF insutterable brightness, in day when
the rocking of the mountains and the
flaming of the heavens and the uDheaval
of the sea shall be among. the least of the
excitements, to give account for every
thought, word, action, preference, and dis
like-that man is mad who has no religious
preference. But our early education, our
physical temperament, our mental consti-
tuition will very much decide our form OF
worship.
A style of psalmody that may please me
may displease you. Some would like to
have a minister in gown, and bands, and
surplice, and others prefer to have q min
lister in plain citizens apparel. Some are
most impressed when little child is pre-
sented at the altar and sprinkled of the
waters of holy benediction "in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost" and others are more i'm
pressed when the penitent comes up out of
the river, his garments dripping with the
waters of baptism which signifies the
washing away of sin. Let either have his
own way. One man likes no noise in
prayer, not word, not whisper. An
other man, Just as good, prefers by gesticu.
tation and exclamation to express his de-
votional aspirations. One is Just as good
as the other. Every man fully persuaded
in his own mind"
George Whitefeld was going over
Quaker rather roughly for some of his re-
igious sentiments, and the Quaker said:
George, am as thou art; am for bring
ing all men to the hope of the Gospel;
therefore, if thou wilt not quarrel with me
about my broad brim, will not quarrel
with thee about thy black gown. George,
give me thy hand"
1. In tracing out the religion of secta-
rianism, or bigotry, find that a great deal
of it comes from wrong education in the
home circle. There are parents who do